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Dronocopter!

You know that remote control helicopter that you got as a present this year. I bet you think you’re pretty cool out in the front yard making your helicopter do tricks, trying to land it on the birdhouse or scare the cat. Well, the Army’s just-announced drone helicopter, the A-160 Hummingbird, is here to laugh in your face - HA! Due to be put into service in May or June of 2012, these drone helicopters are equipped with 1.8 Gigapixel cameras. Oh sorry, were you feeling better about the whole helicopter thing because you remembered you got a cool, new camera too? Yeah, 1.8 ga-ga-ga-GIGA-pixels!

It offers 900 times the resolution of the 2 megapixel camera found in some mobile phones. The system can provide real-time video streams at the rate of 10 frames a second.

The army said that was enough to track people and vehicles from altitudes above 20,000 feet (6.1km) across almost 65 square miles (168 sq km).

The camera is like a bug’s eye, with several different views going at once. Drone operators have the ability to follow multiple views at the same time, so if, say, a house full of suspected terrorists scatters in all different directions, the drone can follow them all.

Cheer up, you still get to play with your Hot Wheels track. The Army can’t take that away from you.

About the author

Marc Sanchez is the technical director and associate producer for Marketplace Tech Report where he is responsible for shaping the sound of the show.